There are many articles about today’s society becoming more materialistically demanding. These articles are not wrong, but I also think that they’re leaving some things behind. Our culture thrives off of images and things we see on television, in magazines, on social media and so much more. But aside from all of that, we also thrive off of love.

Love can be found in many different ways. What one may consider terrible, another may love. It can be something physical, mental or emotional, and can bring out the best and worst in people. There is even a holiday dedicated to this crazy concept called love. Many have recently started to think that love is strictly material (things such as a teddy bear and chocolates, or an elaborate post about someone online). I’ll admit it’s hard not to love those things, but when it comes to love, I have recently realized something I’ve been losing track of: We forget that love is free.

Tell me something. Have you recently had to pay your dog (or cat, I’m just a dog lover) to jump on your lap and cuddle up? I didn’t think so. How about hugging your parents? Do they charge you $2 a hug? I don’t know about yours, but I sure know mine don’t. It is little things like this that we forget about every day in this materialistic world we are living in. Clearing your worries by spending 20 bucks in the Target makeup aisle will not help you as much as a hug from your parents, significant other or pets. More and more children are growing up with technology that we didn’t have at that age, and that automatically puts them in a place to look at love materialistically. I am not saying they all do, but it’s becoming much more common. I can speak from experience that I prefer being engulfed in a hug from my boyfriend over him buying me things all the time. This is when you start to realize that maybe J-Lo was right when she wrote the song “Love Don’t Cost a Thing.”

You can truly find love in anything. If you are riding in the passenger seat of a car late at night, get off your phone and look at the stars in the sky as you are flying down the highway; they might look like love to you. Go to an animal shelter on a Saturday morning and look deep into the eyes of the puppy that’s never felt love until he met you, and you will feel it too. Give your significant other a kiss. Spend a weekend with your parents, bake cookies with your mom on Saturday and on Sunday watch that one movie with your dad that is always on TV but you watch it anyway (for us it's "The Shawshank Redemption" or the "Bourne" series). Lay on the floor next to your pets because they have nothing but unconditional love for you. And for goodness sake, hug your sibling(s).

We live in a world where the majority of things cost money and don’t last very long, so remember one thing: Love is always free.